3 ms·

In case anyone thinks this is cost prohibitive or the tooling is rare, a $100 battery powered grinder you can buy from Home Depot will do this in five seconds.

In case anyone thinks this is cost prohibitive or the tooling is rare, a $100 battery powered grinder you can buy from Home Depot will do this in five seconds. If you have a little less money and a little more time, a $5 flat file will do the same thing in a few minutes.

oblib 4y ago
You know... we already have vehicle IDs on the body, the frame, and the engine on/in our cars. Those do lead to arrest every day here in the U.S.
Scoundreller 4y ago
Depends. The number stamping process does change the metal’s underlying metallurgy throughout the the metal where it was stamped. So unless you drill out the number through the entire metal (which is viable if you’re going to extract the minerals), there’s a possibility of reconstructing the serial number with some level of probability. Happens with guns. But that’s why you criminalize the trade of unmarked parts. Actually makes the prosecutor’s job easy that way rather than proving the part was actually stolen and not your retirement cat investment.
- tpxl 4y ago
  > The number stamping process does change the metal’s underlying metallurgy throughout the the metal where it was stamped. So unless you drill out the number through the entire metal (which is viable if you’re going to extract the minerals), there’s a possibility of reconstructing the serial number with some level of probability. Do you happen to have more information on that?
  - Scoundreller 4y ago
    Here’s an example of it in practice: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/why-police-wanted-search-rodger-kotanko-1.6336188 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/why-police-wanted-se... Other info is a google away, just search for reconstructed serial numbers or similar queries. It’s not exactly a secret, but how successful it can be is.
mieko 4y ago
Yeah: No one thinks it's mechanically difficult to remove identifiers. The point is to make such altered parts illegal to buy. Similar to VIN restrictions or handgun signifiers in many states.
- thepasswordis 4y ago
  The thieves do not care about this and neither do the scrappers. They’ll both grind the serials off within a minute of taking possession if they’re still there.
  - mrguyorama 4y ago
    The point is that a cat with ground identifier is just as illegal to possess as one that is definitely stolen.
q1w2 4y ago
The issue then becomes "plausible deniability". You cannot claim you didn't know they were stolen if the serial number is ground off. So whomever grind the numbers off, may as well cut it open and extract the metals. It puts a major obstacle in the supply chain.

oblib 4y ago

You know... we already have vehicle IDs on the body, the frame, and the engine on/in our cars. Those do lead to arrest every day here in the U.S.

Scoundreller 4y ago

Depends. The number stamping process does change the metal’s underlying metallurgy throughout the the metal where it was stamped. So unless you drill out the number through the entire metal (which is viable if you’re going to extract the minerals), there’s a possibility of reconstructing the serial number with some level of probability. Happens with guns. But that’s why you criminalize the trade of unmarked parts. Actually makes the prosecutor’s job easy that way rather than proving the part was actually stolen and not your retirement cat investment.

tpxl 4y ago
> The number stamping process does change the metal’s underlying metallurgy throughout the the metal where it was stamped. So unless you drill out the number through the entire metal (which is viable if you’re going to extract the minerals), there’s a possibility of reconstructing the serial number with some level of probability. Do you happen to have more information on that?
- Scoundreller 4y ago
  Here’s an example of it in practice: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/why-police-wanted-search-rodger-kotanko-1.6336188 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/why-police-wanted-se... Other info is a google away, just search for reconstructed serial numbers or similar queries. It’s not exactly a secret, but how successful it can be is.

mieko 4y ago

Yeah: No one thinks it's mechanically difficult to remove identifiers. The point is to make such altered parts illegal to buy. Similar to VIN restrictions or handgun signifiers in many states.

thepasswordis 4y ago
The thieves do not care about this and neither do the scrappers. They’ll both grind the serials off within a minute of taking possession if they’re still there.
- mrguyorama 4y ago
  The point is that a cat with ground identifier is just as illegal to possess as one that is definitely stolen.

q1w2 4y ago

The issue then becomes "plausible deniability". You cannot claim you didn't know they were stolen if the serial number is ground off. So whomever grind the numbers off, may as well cut it open and extract the metals. It puts a major obstacle in the supply chain.